Confidence in the safety of standard childhood vaccinations among New Zealand health professionals.

Abstract

Aims: To investigate the level of confidence in the safety of standard childhood vaccinations among health professionals in New Zealand.

Method: Data from the 2013/14 New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS) was used to investigate the level of agreement that "it is safe to vaccinate children following the standard New Zealand immunisation schedule" among different classes of health professionals (N=1,032).

Results: Most health professionals showed higher levels of vaccine confidence, with 96.7% of those describing their occupation as GP or simply 'doctor' (GPs/doctor) and 90.7% of pharmacists expressing strong vaccine confidence. However, there were important disparities between some other classes of health professionals, with only 65.1% of midwives and 13.6% of practitioners of alternative medicine expressing high vaccine confidence.

Conclusion: As health professionals are a highly trusted source of vaccine information, communicating the consensus of belief among GPs/doctors that vaccines are safe may help provide reassurance for parents who ask about vaccine safety. However, the lower level of vaccine confidence among midwives is a matter of concern that may have negative influence on parental perceptions of vaccinations.